Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies

Hans B. Neumann is a history lecturer at Scarborough College, University
of Toronto.

This compact little paperback (small enough to fit comfortably in a
backpack) attempts the ambitious task of presenting the major ski trails
available to the cross-country–skiing enthusiast in the Canadian
Rockies. Given the vast area covered—from Waterton Lakes to Jasper and
from Banff to Yoho—the book, little more than 200 pages, cannot
possibly hope to be exhaustive, but it does provide a good sample (151
in total) of the available trails.

Discussion of each major area, and the various trails within, is clear,
concise, and informative. The descriptions (often accompanied by
black-and-white photographs) provide the skier with basic information
about what conditions to expect on each trail. Unfortunately, the trail
maps (most are collective maps of trails in a given region, not of
individual trails) are extremely schematic and lack scale markings or
references, which renders them virtually useless (though, in fairness,
each trail description includes a reference number corresponding to the
exact topographical map from the National Topographic System at the
1:50,000 scale). The book also includes further sources relevant to
preparing for a cross-country-skiing trip, as well as a number of
helpful addresses and phone numbers.

Overall, this is a good overview of the accessible ski trails in the
major alpine and resort areas covered. It would especially benefit
newcomers to the respective areas who require a basic introduction to
their ski trails.